High Tech News and Information for Southern California

Tuesday, December 11, 2012DFR Selects Jim Jonassen For Annual HonorThe Digital Family Reunion, the annual holiday gathering which pulls together a network of local trade groups and organizations, said Tuesday that it has selected Jim Jonassen with its annual Outstanding Achievement honor. Jonassen is a recruiter and also runs the Thursday Nights events, along with having been involved with efforts such as LAwNMoweR and the Digital Coast Roundtable. DFR has previously recognized Eric Pulier, Nolan Bushnell, Scott Painter and William Quigley with the award. The g (More info...)

Farmigo Eyes LA Next With $8M For Local FoodFarmigo, a startup developing an online marketplace connecting local farmers with consumers, said Tuesday that it has raised $8M in a Series B funding, and is eyeing Los Angeles as one of its next markets. The startup--based in Palo Alto--develops an online marketplace to let people buy directly from multiple, local farms, and have those purchases directly delivered to people's work. The company has so far launched in San Francisco and New York, but says that it is in the process of launching it (More info...)

Warner, MGM Back Game Maker KabamWarner Brothers Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios have invested in massively multiplayer, online and social game maker Kabam, as part of the launch of several games centered around The Hobbit. Kama said today that it has launched The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth App for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices, inspired by the Hobbit trilogy. Size of the funding from Warner and MGM was not announced.

One King's Lane Raises $50MOnline home furnishing retailer One King's Lane said today that it has raised $50M in a new funding, which brings its total raised to $117M. The e-commerce and flash sales operator--which has an office in Los Angeles--said the funding was led by Institutional Venture Partners, and also included Scripps Interactive, Kleiner Perkins, Greylock Partners, and Tiger Global Management. The firm's headquarters are in San Francisco.

Nimble Integrates With HootSuiteSanta Monica-based Nimble, the developer of social, contact relationship management software-as-a-service, said this morning that it has tied its service with HootSuite, which develops a social media management product. Nimble said the move will allow users to connect their social media efforts with social CRM. Nimble said the interation allows users of HootSuite to transform limited social profiles into a complete contact record, including conversation history and other details, which can also (More info...)

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals Acquired For $25MSan Diego-based Somaxon, a developer of treatments for insomnia, has been acquired by Pernix Therapeutics Holdings, in a deal worth $25M. According to the two companies, Pernix will acquire Somaxon in a stock-for-stock transaction worth a total of $25M in total equity. Pernix said the buy will help expand its product portfolio. Somaxon had 12 months net sales of approximately $11.7M as of September 30th. The company has been looking for a buyer since December of 2011, when it drastically cut its (More info...)

Everbridge Buys Chinese FirmGlendale-based Everbridge, the provider of mass notification and other communications tools, said today that it has acquired Hypersun Group Ltd., an Internet and software engineering services firm headquartered in Beijing. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. Everbridge said that Hypersun has more than 35 engineering staff, and will help provide it with a "deeper bench" of engineering expertise. As part of the acquisition, Everbridge said it has appointed Hypersun's founder, Yuan Chen (More info...)

Cool Planet Energy Systems Snags CFO From VonageCamarillo-based biofuels firm Cool Planet Energy Systems has named a new CFO, the company announced today. The firm said it has named Barry L. Rowan as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, joining from Vonage Corporation, where he was EVP, CFO, and Chief Administrative Officer. Rowan also has served at Nextel Partners. Cool Planet Energy is venture backed by General Electric, Google Ventures, BP, ConocoPhillips, NRG and Constellation Energy; the firm says it has created technolo (More info...)

SV Angel's David Lee Heads To LAYet another, Silicon Valley venture capitalist is headed to Los Angeles--this time, David Lee, co-founder and managing partner of prolific angel investment fund SV Angel. The move--first reported by PandoDaily's Sarah Lacy--apparently comes for personal reasons for Lee, whose famly lives in Los Angeles. However, it looks like Lee will be doing the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco shuffle, working in San Francisco while living in LA, a not uncommon arrangement for Silicon Valley executives stretched (More info...)

Gores Buys Harris Broadcast CommunicationsLos Angeles-based private equity firm The Gores Group said yesterday that it is acquiring Harris Broadcast Communications, a supplier of hardware and software for managing and distributing video content, in a deal worth $225M. Gores acquired the company from Harris Corporation. Harris Broadcast Communications is based in Denver, Colorado. Gores said the buy will help the division become a "strong independent company".

ParkMe Formally Launches In LA, Santa MonicaParkme, the Santa Monica-based startup which provides smartphone users with real-time, parking information, said today that it has formally launched its services in btoh Santa Monica and Los Angeles. The company said that the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) has selected it to help enhance the LA Express Park program, offering real time parking informtaion on parkin meters, prices, hours of operation, and more; in addition, the firm said th the City of Santa Monica is planning to (More info...)

Ventura Ventures Technology Center (V2TC) - Business IncubatorThe Ventura Ventures Technology Center (V2TC) is a high-tech business incubator located in downtown Ventura, CA. V2TC offers a creative environment where high-tech start-ups and entrepreneurs can network, brainstorm, and grow their business. Work-spaces are affordable, flexible and scalable in order to allow companies the ability to manage their growth effectively and efficiently.

TOPIC: ZEFR Founders, Zach James & Richard Raddon, will give a presentation on the founding of ZEFR. ZEFR provides solutions for professional content owners on YouTube and has built a premium network that brings together the largest and most diverse collection of movies, television, music and sports content. With more than 1 billion monthly views after only a year on the platform, ZEFR is the fastest growing YouTube partner.